Garlic Parmesan Orzo

Garlic Parmesan Orzo (Instant Pot)

This was so good...

1 ½ cups of water
¾ cup (143g) Orzo pasta
1 tsp minced garlic (1 clove)
1 Tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine water, orzo, garlic, and butter in the Instant Pot.

Cook on HIGH PRESSURE for four minutes, followed by a QUICK RELEASE

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in cheese.

This makes two side-dish servings but can be doubled, same cook time.

NOTES:
This needed a LOT of salt, it might be better to add some to the cooking water.  Maybe 1/2 teaspoon.

No reason this can't be made on the stove... cook and drain the orzo according to the package, stir in all the other ingredients and eat it!

My cheese advice applies: If you're going to be saving some to reheat later, do NOT stir in the cheese.  Add it to your bowl.  Cheese does not reheat well.

You could make this with small shells, or elbows.  Just adjust the cooking time.  Pasta always cooks for 1/2 the time called for on the package, and do a quick release.

Spaghetti for One or Two (Instant Pot)

If you like your spaghetti sauce thick and tomatoey, or your Italian Grandmother is looking over your shoulder, this recipe is not for you.

You could use more sauce, thicker sauce, or less water, to a point.



DOUBLE AMOUNTS FOR TWO


1/4 lb ground beef
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
2  ounces (dry, uncooked weight) Spaghetti or other pasta
cheese
water
salt
pepper



Heat the instant pot on Saute until HOT.  Add the ground beef, cook and stir to break it up.

Add the sauce

Add the pasta.  If you are using spaghetti, or other long pasta, put half in one direction and half at a 90-degree angle.

Add enough water to cover the pasta.  There's no exact measurement, it all depends on the size and shape of the pasta, and the size of your pot.  This recipe probably won't work in a larger pot! Sprinkle some salt on top, 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon.

Cook on high pressure for half the cooking time called for on the pasta package.  Do a quick release, then stir.

If it's too thin, you can turn the pot to SAUTE again and cook it a little to thicken up, or use a slotted serving spoon.  Which is what I did since I'm not crazy about sauce anyway.

I was out of parmesan cheese, how sad is that.

This is one serving, made in an Instant Pot Mini.  You can double for two.  It's not a full meal, you need a vegetable side or a salad and you can't miss with garlic or cheese bread.

Leftover sauce? If it's in a jar (no judgment) you can stick it in the fridge for a week.  If you've made your own, you can freeze it!  I freeze it in custard cups, pop the blocks out and stick them in a ziplock.

You can use the frozen stuff in this recipe, it will just take longer to come to pressure.

Lazy Girl's Meatballs and Pasta

Frozen meatballs... sounds nasty, but... NO! They're good!  I like the small size, Swedish Meatball type.  Not from Ikea, but my neighborhood Kroger store.  They come in a resealable bag.  One serving is 6, but if you throw in a couple for the dog it won't change the cooking time.  If you use the larger meatballs, like the Italian style, it might need to cook longer and would probably mess up the pasta.


Similar to the IP spaghetti, but less work.  I'm a sucker for pasta and less work...

FOR ONE:  (Double for two, won't change the cook time)
6 Frozen Meatballs
1/2 can condensed cream of something soup (or 1/2 jar pasta sauce or beef gravy)
2 ounces pasta (dry, uncooked weight)**
1/2 cup water (about)*
1/2 tsp Better than Boullion (optional)

Put in the meatballs and pasta, cover with the soup.  Add the water.*

Seal the pot and cook at high pressure for half the time called for on the pasta package, around 6 minutes.  Do a quick release.  Pour it into a bowl.  You're done!


*You will get ticker or thinner sauce according to how much water you add, so I can't really give you a specific amount.  You need to make sure the pasta is completely covered. Also, there's a minimum amount required to get pressure, depending on the size of your pot. 


If you're using sauce or gravy, use the minimum amount needed to cover the noodles.  Condensed soup is better, as it needs to be diluted a little to make decent gravy.   I like cream of mushroom with a little beef flavor stirred in.  Campbell's Golden Mushroom is really, really good.

What about the other half of the can? Put it in a container in the fridge.  It'll keep for a week.  Or more.  Just don't use it if it's blue or resembles a science project...

** Don't use too delicate of a pasta or the cooking time will be too short.  Bow tie noodles, rigatoni, radiatore,  large shells, rotini... anything with a cook time of 10-12 minutes should work fine.

Keep in mind that I have a 3 qt. Mini IP.  A large pot might not cook this properly as those need a full cup of liquid to reach full pressure.  (instead of the half cup a mini pot needs)  I like to wave this tidbit in the face of those who say to get the big pot because "you can always cook smaller". Uh, no, that's not how pressure cookers work.